Chickpea and Sausage Minestrone

The first day of winter isn't until Saturday...Chicago has gotten approximately 6 more inches of snow that I want.  Oh, wait we've had about 6 inches of snow.  Guess I've given away my innermost thoughts on snow.  Enough about snow, though, something tells me I will be less of a fan of it when winter ends.  Let's make some soup.  I am going to try this one after Christmas.

3/4 C. uncooked small shell pasta
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 4oz. link hot turkey Italian sausage, casing removed
1 C. diced onion
1 C. diced carrot
1/2 C. diced celery
2 tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 15oz. can unsalted chickpeas, rinsedand drained
1 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomates, undrained
4 C. unsalted chicken broth
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While pasta cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add sausage, cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble.  Add onion and next 6 ingredients (through garlic); cook 10 minutes.  Add chickpeas, tomatoes and stock; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in pasta, salt and pepper; cook 1 minute more.

Calories per serving: 197, Fat: 4.7g, Protein: 12g, Carb: 26.5g, Fiber:4g, Chol: 16mg, Iron: 2.1mg, Sodium: 553mg, Calcium:76mg.